Perrone tried to step in when he saw his partner put his hands up in defence and yelled "leave my boyfriend alone, don't touch my boyfriend".
He said the girls' boyfriends then jumped in and started calling him "faggot and homo".
"I was in the crowd of people trying to break it up and some guy hit me in the face and some girl cut my arm."
READ MORE:
• Police probe London 'homophobic' murder
• Lee Suckling: Kiwi reporter's homophobic attack on K'Rd a wake-up call
• Police complaint over Jevan Goulter's tirade against The Project's Kanoa Lloyd
His partner's clothes were ripped and torn.
A group of bystanders filmed the incident on their phones and were egging the attackers on, Perrone said. A few others tried to step in and help.
Restaurant staff sounded the fire alarm and people started to leave.
Two police officers arrived and broke the fight up and escorted Perrone and his partner outside.
"People were threatening us and attacking us and I was holding on to this policewoman's hand crying and crying and I said, 'Please can you walk us out, please can you walk us down the street, we are not safe, people are trying to attack us'."
Perrone was shocked by her response.
"She looked me in the eye and said, 'I'm not going to do that'."
Instead Perrone and his partner had to walk through the crowd of people who had been yelling at and threatening them.
"We were absolutely terrified."
One young woman stepped in and took their hands and helped them walk through the crowd. As they continued down the road, other people saw them crying, hugged them and walked with them to the end of Courtenay Place by the Embassy Theatre, Perrone said.
"The police did calm it down. I will give them that. But they were not there to protect us.
"People in our gay community are not safe, we can't rely on the police to protect us."
Police have since apologised to Perrone and his partner.
"My partner and I had a sit down with @nzpolice and they gave us a warm and sincere apology," Perrone tweeted.
"They have agreed to have a hui with other Queer organisations and community's [sic] to discuss moving forward," he wrote.
"Although it was handled poorly, the support they're offering is phenomenal and we are so greatful [sic] that they stepped up, reached out and took ownership for what happened."
Perrone said the main reason he was speaking out was not because he was attacked, but because he wanted police to take more action to help protect the gay community.
Wellington police area commander Inspector Dion Bennett said he would be making inquiries with staff to establish what happened.
The officers involved were working night shift so he had been unable to establish the specific circumstances of the incident at this stage.
Bennett said police were committed to supporting and working with the LGBTQIA+ community, staff and their families and walked in yesterday's parade, while other officers were on duty to ensure everyone's safety.
"Police are absolutely committed to promoting inclusion, diversity, and dialogue, and any report of people being targeted because of their sexual orientation is deeply concerning.
"Violence or abuse towards anyone in our community will never be tolerated by police and we urge anyone who has been the victim of a crime to contact us on 105 and report it."
